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4th & Park Exterior

4th & Park

Project Details

General Contractor:
Ryan Companies

Architect: Ryan Companies

Location: Minneapolis, MN

Size: 379,000 SF, 350 Units

Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

Located in the heart of Downtown East, 4th and Park is a 25-story multi-family residential tower that brings modern design and high-performance glazing to the Minneapolis skyline. Empirehouse collaborated closely with Ryan Companies from early planning through construction, providing design-assist services and innovative solutions to meet tight budget constraints and complex design challenges.

By prefabricating and pre-glazing the window wall system in-house, Empirehouse streamlined installation and tackled intricate slab edge conditions with precision. A standout feature is the 233-foot-long wind screen surrounding the rooftop pool deck, engineered with structural posts and heavy laminated glass for both safety and aesthetics. The project also included 228 custom terrace doors integrated into a 70,000+ SF window wall system, ensuring optimal air and water performance.

Scope:

  • 70,715 SF custom window wall system with pre-glazed framing
  • 228 fully integrated terrace doors with vacuum-sealed performance
  • 233′ wind screen using heavy laminated glass + point-supported structural posts
  • Just-in-time material delivery for efficient logistics
  • LEED Silver Certified
  • Awarded NAIOP MN Award of Excellence + Ryan Companies Subcontractor Safety Award

    This award-winning project showcases our design-assist expertise, prefabrication capabilities, and commitment to cost-effective, safe solutions. We’re proud to have contributed to this LEED Silver Certified landmark in the heart of Minneapolis.

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    Lakewood Garden Mausoleum

    Project Details

    General Contractor:
    Mortenson Construction

    Architect: HGA Architects

    Location: Minneapolis, MN

    Size: 24,500 SF

    Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

    Built into a hillside to preserve the cemetery’s pastoral character, the Lakewood Garden Mausoleum features an elegantly simple, granite-clad design that quietly integrates with the landscape. The 24,000-square-foot, two-level structure includes six crypt rooms, six columbaria rooms, three family crypt rooms, a committal room, and support spaces.

    Natural light filters through bronze metal curtainwall, slim-slotted windows, and ground-level skylights, creating a serene, contemplative space for those grieving. Inside, skylights and lantern windows enhance the connection between the spiritual and the earthly. The mausoleum’s three horizontally oriented pods, clad in gray granite and white mosaic marble, reflect the historic family mausoleums found throughout the cemetery.

    Widely regarded as one of the finest constructed projects in Minnesota, the mausoleum showcases exceptional craftsmanship and material quality throughout. Empirehouse sourced premium materials and delivered custom bronze and glass elements for the curtainwall, doors, and windows—ensuring a final result that is both contemporary and complementary to its surroundings.

    Scope:

    • Six Flat Skylights
    • Custom Fabricated Bronze Clad Windows
    • Ten Oversized Bronze Balance Doors with Decorative Grills and Art Glass
    • Glass Guardrails
    • Family Crypt Gates
    • All Framing Systems

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    Entrance of Minnehaha Upper School after Renovation

    Minnehaha Academy

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    Project Details

    General Contractor:
    Mortenson Construction

    Architect: Cunningham Group

    Location: Minneapolis, MN

    Size: 168,000 SF

    Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

    Awards:

    • AIA Minnesota – Honor Award
    • Design-Build Institute of America – Upper Midwest Region – Project of the Year
    • Association for Learning Environments – LEsolutions Project of Distinction
    • Finance & Commerce – Top Project 

    In August 2017, a tragedy struck Minnehaha Academy’s North Campus, causing extensive damage and a partial building collapse. The school faced the urgent need for a complete rebuild of its Upper School facility.

    By April 2018, Empirehouse joined Mortenson Construction and Cuningham Group Architecture in a collaborative design effort. Although the scope was initially undefined, Empirehouse supported early schematic budgeting, logistical planning, and pre-construction engineering. Close coordination allowed the team to align on design intent, performance needs, and an aggressive project timeline.

    Empirehouse contributed integration detailing, full-scale mock-up reviews, and glass substrate selection—including a custom bird-friendly silkscreen design that enhances the façade’s aesthetics. Working directly within the building model, Empirehouse refined connection details and delivered an early production set for timely material procurement.

    Scope:

    • Custom horizontal-line pattern bird-friendly silkscreen glass

    • Trapezoidal flat-slope skylight system (¼” per foot slope)

    • Ultra-high-performance aluminum curtain wall and storefront glazing systems

    • Extensive interior glass for passive daylighting

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    Minnesota Orchestra Hall

    Project Details

    General Contractor:
    Mortenson Construction

    Architect: KPMB Architects

    Location: Minneapolis, MN

    Size: 131,440 SF

    Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

    Empirehouse provided preconstruction engineering and cost studies to help define the glazing package for this complex, high-performance façade. The primary exterior system features roughly 23,400 square feet of conventionally glazed aluminum pressure-wall engineered for high-span applications. Much of the glazing rests on a carbon plate base, giving the impression of a suspended cantilevered wall. To meet the design’s +/- 5/8″ movement tolerance at each connection point, custom horizontal extrusions and independently loaded connections were developed.

    The back-of-house scope included 8,900 square feet of applied veneer glazing to refresh existing façades with minimal demolition. Secondary systems introduced dramatic design elements, including a top-hung, cantilevered structural glass fin wall offering sweeping city views. Installing some of these oversized panels—up to 76″ x 140″—required custom-engineered lifting equipment due to sequencing challenges with precast sunshade elements.

    To balance performance and aesthetics, Empirehouse also delivered a 4,500 square foot custom aluminum bar stock-supported wall at the plaza level. This was implemented as a value-engineered alternative to an unsupported structural glass wall, reducing material costs while preserving visual impact.

    Scope:

    • 23,400 SF aluminum pressure-wall glazing system

    • 8,900 SF applied veneer wall glazing

    • 3,400 SF top-hung cantilevered structural glass fin-supported wall system with stainless steel fittings

    • 4,500 SF custom aluminum bar stock fin-supported glazed wall system

    • 1,100 LF of glass handrail

    • Decorative, back-painted, and custom laminated glass infill panels

    Orchestra Hall opened in 1974. The 2012 – 13 renovation replaced the original lobby with a larger, more functional space that includes an event space known as the ​“City Room.”

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    Mystic Lake Casino

    Project Details

    General Contractor:
    PCL Construction

    Architect: WorthGroup Architects & Designers

    Location: Prior Lake, MN

    Size: 281,000 SF

    Services: Design-Assist, Fabrication, Installation

    Empirehouse partnered with PCL Construction from the earliest design phases of Mystic Lake Center—a 70,000-square-foot event space and 180-room hotel tower—providing design-assist services, pre-construction engineering, and cost studies to help shape the glazing scope.

    Innovative on-site pre-glazing techniques were developed to maximize efficiency and reduce equipment needs, resulting in 3,500 square feet of glass installed in a single day on the nine-story hotel tower. The main façade features a 23,400-square-foot custom aluminum pressure-wall system engineered for high-span conditions and mounted on a carbon plate to achieve a suspended wall effect, with unique movement connections allowing +/- 5/8″ of flexibility at each attachment point.

    Empirehouse also installed 10,000 square feet of Sage electrochromatic smart glass curtainwall on the event center, programmed to tint automatically with the sun’s movement for energy savings and comfort. Additional glazing systems included 8,900 square feet of applied veneer walls, a 3,400-square-foot top-hung structural glass fin-supported wall, and a 4,500-square-foot custom aluminum fin-supported system—all contributing to the building’s striking design and performance.

    Scope:

    • 23,400 SF aluminum pressure-wall system
    • 25,000 SF ultra-thermal curtainwall with high-performance glass
    • 10,000 SF Sage electrochromatic curtainwall
    • 8,900 SF applied veneer glazing
    • 7,000 SF storefront systems
    • 3,400 SF top-hung structural glass fin wall
    • 4,500 SF aluminum bar stock fin wall
    • 25 entrances, 1,100 LF glass handrail, 128 LF glass balustrade
    • Shower doors and mirrors for 180 rooms
    • Decorative, back-painted, and laminated glass panels
    • Borrowed lites and suite shelving

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